A majority of Americans don't believe Chris Christie's story

Ever since the "Bridgegate" scandal broke into the national headlines, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) has insisted he knew nothing about the traffic jam caused by his closest aides in a ham-handed attempt at political retribution.

His denials started with a two-hour marathon press conference when he claimed he was "blindsided" by the news.

He later told Yahoo News, "I don't think anybody knows what it feels like to have the kind of attention that I've had in the last nine days until you go through it... It's awful. Listen, it's awful. I can explain to you as vividly as you like, but you won't get it."

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Christie kept playing the victim at a series of political fundraisers last weekend in Florida, Politico reports: "He just said how sad and disappointed he was… It was like a family member turning on him. He said it was just really painful."

But a new USA Today/Pew Research poll finds that of those Americans following the story, 58 percent do not think Christie was unaware that his aides caused the traffic jams for political payback. Only 32 percent said they believed the governor was unaware of his aides' actions.

Even more striking is how Christie's unfavorable rating has now doubled since last year, from 17 percent to 34 percent.

Ongoing investigations by the New Jersey legislature, the U.S. Attorney's office, and the media will ultimately help determine whether Christie is telling the truth. But so far, Americans are not buying it.